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Since that call, Ortega’s schedule has moved at a breakneck pace. Over the past eight months, he hasn’t gotten the month-long rest he once counted on to clear his head. Between training and promotion, he can barely keep up with his schedule.

“There’s times where I’m at an airport and I’m like, ‘Where am I going today?'” Ortega said in advance of his UFC 222 co-headliner with Edgar on March 3 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

If Ortega is moving faster than usual, it’s because the promotion wants him front and center as one of the new faces of the event. Were it not for a last-minute shift, he might have headlined the pay-per-view event. He had agreed to face Edgar for five rounds, only to be downgraded to co-main when women’s featherweight champ Cris Cyborg volunteered to face Invicta FC bantamweight champ Yana Kunitskaya.

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When he was an up-and-comer, Ortega was more a fan of Clay Guida, whose limitless energy drew him in. Edgar was a guy he had respect for as a tough veteran. What they had in common was legendary status, which Ortega hoped to one day achieve.

UFC President Dana White recently called Ortega the future of the sport, an endorsement few fighters receive so early in their careers. With five straight UFC wins, including a record-setting run of third-round submissions, it doesn’t seem as much of a stretch for “T-City.” He’s thankful nonetheless that he’s reached this point.

“I always work so hard, but sometimes your mind plays games with you,” he said. “Is this going to be worth it? Are people even paying attention? Is the cause worth the work? Sometimes you’re like, I’ll make more money doing something else. You start thinking about it.

“And then when (White) gets behind me and pulls me in the back and says, ‘Kid, you’re doing a great job,’ I like that. I just turned 27, and I’m already in these predicaments. So let go of the stress. I hope to be the future of the sport.”

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The way things are moving for Ortega, he can see a day when a high schooler winds up facing him in the octagon. But for now, he’s working on making his mark. To finish Edgar, who’s never been stopped by an opponent, that would be another step in the right direction.

“That’s the best part,” Ortega said. “This is a great challenge, because it puts that extra edge on me. I’m the kind of guy that if you tell me I can’t do something, I’m going to do it. Like, ‘Hey Brian, you can’t do a backflip off that two-story building and land on your feet.’ I’m going to give it a shot.

“So, when they say, hey, this guy’s never been finished – for me, it’s just like, let’s go for it. Let’s see if we can do it.”